Nowadays, employees want to be involved in their work beyond the standard 9-to-5 engagement. They want to be enthusiastic about the organization they work for, build networks with their fellow workers, and be in a position to learn new skills and develop themselves professionally. 

As a result, employee engagement is one of the most critical indicators in measuring work satisfaction. However, it goes way beyond securing employees’ well-being just for their own sake when it comes to employee engagement. Researchers have found that happy and engaged employees are a precursor to a successful business. 

The Importance Of Employee Engagement 

Engaged employees show a positive attitude towards the company and its values. They are productive, dedicated to the work, and contribute to the organization’s growth. It is more than just receiving a paycheck at the end of the month for engaged employees who are happy and utterly committed to their work. They are passionate about their work and show dedication to their employers, which is often reflected in their outcomes.

Securing Employee Engagement

Creating an environment that encourages employees to naturally want to be involved in and care deeply about their work is the first step towards securing employees’ engagement. So, to achieve high levels of motivation, involvement, commitment, and trust, managers and organization leaders need to:

Provide Engaging Learning Experiences 

To better engage your workforces and help them meet their career development needs, provide relevant, engaging, and interactive learning programs. Offering your team frequent possibilities to polish or upgrade their skills is the most critical tool in securing their commitment to your business. 

Consider training, seminars, online courses, or even better one-on-one or group coaching programs. Focus on creating specialized learning experiences that also include conversation simulations that focus on specific aspects of an employee’s role. If your organization has multiple knowledge and skills-building initiatives, consider a platform that can help you scale your coaching programs by simplifying, organizing, and automating your coaching.

Encourage Socializing 

Make it a priority for you and your team to spend quality time out of the office. Think team-building events, team lunches or yoga sessions, company holiday parties, or summer happy hours. These events will help relationships blossom and increase employee engagement at work. 

And since we live in pandemic times, it is of even greater importance to secure social interaction and maintain the company culture among your team. To do that, consider transitioning from live to virtual events by deploying these creative virtual event ideas. And even though the end may be in sight for social distancing, we are confident that virtual events are here to stay.

Facilitate Employee Communication 

Employee communication is another vital aspect in developing strong working relationships among employees and achieving higher productivity. Companies that offer ways for clear and well-defined communication can quickly build trust among employees. 

And that is especially important in internal communication. Ensuring, for example, that employees are aligned with the changing priorities of the business is vital for its smooth functioning. 

Furthermore, when proper communication channels are established, employees minimize time and resources. Ultimately, communication is also key to setting clear expectations. Employees that lack guidelines about what is expected of them rarely know what they need to do. Good communication helps them prioritize tasks and plan their workdays efficiently.

Enable Healthy Competition 

As a manager or an organization leader, make sure you provide your team with little healthy competition. According to some studies, competition increases physiological and psychological activation, which prepares the body and mind for increased effort and enables higher performance. 

Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash

Employee Engagement Benefits For Organizations

There are four significant benefits for organizations that take employee engagement seriously:

Employee retention – Organizations with high engagement reduce turnover and hiring costs. Engaging employees is critical for retaining valuable talent and an essential piece of the employee satisfaction secret, as disengaged employees are more likely to leave their jobs. Once your employees are motivated to remain and commit to your organization, you can achieve more business goals and help you drive the organization forward.

Employee productivity – Employees who are engaged at work are more likely to consistently be productive, which leads to more revenue for your company. According to Gallup data, organizations with a high level of engagement report 22% higher productivity. 

Better quality and higher profitability – Engaged employees function with their full power, which means they are less likely to make errors and more likely to achieve excellence. Moreover, the latest research shows that highly engaged organizations have 21% higher profitability than their peers. However, once your organization achieves increased profitability, make sure to reinvest in activities and tech that secure further employee engagement. That will keep you on a steady, upward trajectory.

Lower absenteeism – Engaged employees are invested in their job and care about the success of their teams. So, it makes sense that they would show up to work. Engaged employees are firmly committed to their organization’s mission, and they’re going to arrive every day to make sure it gets done. They are confident in their role and believe that, for example, one missed day won’t affect the work to be accomplished.

Conclusion

Connection, communication, and engagement are the three most vital aspects for the growth of a business, both internally and externally. Employees who are genuinely engaged will be motivated to do their best work every day and stay with a company taking employee engagement seriously. By investing in employee engagement, your company will be in a position to increase productivity, work quality, and retain top talent.

Intro Pic by Husna Miskandar on Unsplash

Kiran Shahid is a Canada-based B2B copywriter. As a copywriter for 8 years, she is determined to make boring business copy shine. In her free time, you can find her trying out different foods. You can connect with Kiran on LinkedIn or check out her website.